


Awaken From Your Nightmares

by GoldenDaydreams



Category: Diablero (TV 2018)
Genre: Gen, Grief, Nancy Gama & Elvis Infante Friendship, Nancy Is Doing Her Best, Season 1 Spoilers, post-Season 1
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-25
Updated: 2019-10-25
Packaged: 2021-01-02 19:40:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,319
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21166835
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GoldenDaydreams/pseuds/GoldenDaydreams
Summary: “The kid has taken to you,” Elvis said, putting an arm over her shoulders and giving her a bit of a shake. “You have maternal instinct! You’re good with her!”“She’s still having nightmares,” Nancy said, leaning into the warmth of Elvis when he stopped shaking her around. “I don’t know what else to do to calm her.”“She just needs time.”OR: Mariana is having nightmares, and Nancy is just doing her best.





	Awaken From Your Nightmares

**Author's Note:**

> I only discovered this show a week ago, and binged it in two nights. Figured I'd check out the fics, and... yo, there is only one? This fandom is _ a baby_ so now I'll try and throw one-shots at it to build it up.

“Just one more?” Mariana asked, staring up at Nancy with her father’s eyes.   
  
“No, that’s it for tonight,” Nancy replied, averting her gaze to the book she closed. The front had a lovely dark blue cover, gold writing, and spatter of constellations. She set it on the nightstand along with the glass of water, a lamp, and a small bible. “You need your rest.”   
  
“I’m not tired,” Mariana complained.   
  
A shadow crept along the wall, and Nancy turned to see Elvis standing in the doorway. He gave his head a slight nod toward the family room, a silent summons. Nancy nodded in return, and turned back to Mariana as she stood. “Sweet dreams,” she said, running her hand over the girl’s hair as she settled under the blankets. “Just call out if you need me.”   
  
“You’ll leave the night light on, right?” Mariana asked.   
  
Nancy took a deep breath and smiled before she turned around. “Of course, sweet one.” The night light was plugged into the wall, and Nancy flipped the switch on it before turning out the main light.   
  
“Good night,” Elvis said, giving her a little wave.   
  
Mariana waved back before pulling the doll Keta had given her closer.   
  
Nancy closed the door behind herself, and followed Elvis into the family room. “How is she doing?” he asked, dropping down onto the couch rather gracelessly. It wasn’t the question she’d been expecting.   
  
“All things considered? Okay, I guess?” She sat down beside him, and put her feet up on the coffee table. “Maybe you should ask Keta, she’s more… she’s just better at this sort of thing,” Nancy said, picking at the grime under her fingernails.   
  
“The kid has taken to you,” Elvis said, putting an arm over her shoulders and giving her a bit of a shake. “You have maternal instinct! You’re good with her!”   
  
“She’s still having nightmares,” Nancy said, leaning into the warmth of Elvis when he stopped shaking her around. “I don’t know what else to do to calm her.”   
  
“She just needs time,” Elvis said.   
  
“She was ritualistically sacrificed, brought forth an old God, died, and was somehow saved by the father she’d never known, and he-” she paused, trying to swallow the lump in her throat, blinking quick to combat the tears she wouldn’t let fall. “Her mother was murdered, and her father… Ramiro sacrificed himself for her. How… how is that something I help her overcome?”   
  
Elvis too a deep breath, and sunk lower into the couch. “Beats me.”   
  
She sighed, and leaned forward, hands on her knees. “I should sleep. She’s going to end up waking me up in a couple of hours.”   
  
“Good night, then. I’ll be around if either of you need anything.”   
  
She patted his knee, and then stood. When she walked down the hall, she paused outside of Mariana’s room, listened, checked inside. The girl was sleeping soundly on her side, the doll still in her arms. Nancy shut the door quietly, and continued down the hall. Her room was on the small side, but it fit what meager belongings she had, and a few things that weren’t hers.   
  
Some of Ramiro’s things had ended up in her room. She would never confess to returning to his little apartment, and stealing a sweater from the hamper, the small bottle of aftershave, or the rosary that had been inside of his dresser. She told herself it didn’t mean anything, he wasn’t the only one she’d stolen from. She’d swiped a knife that she’d really liked from Elvis- he either hadn’t noticed, or more likely, hadn’t minded. She’d stolen the recipe card for enchiladas from Keta’s recipe box, it wasn’t like she ever actually looked at it anyway.   
  
Nancy undressed, and pulled on the shorts she had for sleeping. It didn’t matter that they were a little ratty around the edges from all the washes, or that the drawstring had fallen out years ago. The t-shirt had once been Elvis’s, but had been reclaimed as her own years previous. Once settled in bed, she pulled Ramiro’s sweater out from under her pillow and held it close.   
  
The scent of his aftershave was long gone, but it was something to hold onto. “Mariana had a good day at school today,” she whispered. “She’s enjoying the book we’re reading together. It’s about a young girl who learns she has magical powers, and then uses it for good.” She toyed with the drawstring. “She asks about you all the time, misses you even though she never really got the chance to know you.” She closed her eyes, and controlled her breathing until the overwhelming emotion passed. “I miss you too.”   
  
She held tight to the well-worn fabric, breathed deeply, and fell to sleep.   
  
::  
  
When Nancy woke up, she flipped on the light and looked at the watch on her bedside dresser. Three AM. Usually Mariana would have awoken screaming herself hoarse by that point, it happened so frequently that Nancy was programmed to wake up even when it didn’t happen. She threw off the blankets, and quickly stuffed Ramiro’s sweater under the pillow. She grimaced as her bare feet touched the floor, but shuffled along down the hall, with thoughts of a glass of water and finding whatever sweets Keta thought she’d hidden well enough.   
  
Something made her pause outside of Mariana’s room. The hairs on the back of her neck stood on end, and a chill ran down her spine. She reached for her cross necklace, held it tight in her fist. She reached out, but before her fingers could even touch the door, she watched the arcs of electricity jump from the handle to her fingertips.   
  
Her heart pounded, even as her fingertips felt warmer, and warmer still. “Ramiro…” She grabbed it, ignoring the pain, and threw the door open.   
  
Not Ramiro.   
  
Not _Human_.   
  
Or Diablero.   
  
Or Demon.   
  
A figure of all pure white sat on the side of Mariana’s bed, back to the door, wings folded neatly but still dragging on the floor. It stood, and she stood strong against the instinctual fear that made her want to run and hide, or summon a demon to protect herself, and Mariana with. She trembled, sure, but she stood strong.   
  
The Angel, because there was no other way to describe it, turned around. While he lacked hair, and the enticing beginnings of a beard, she knew the face structure, she knew those eyes.   
  
“Ramiro?”   
  
He said nothing, head tilting slightly to the side.   
  
She didn’t know what to say, even though she’d dreamed of being able to speak to him again, even with all the questions building in her mind, the shock was too much.   
  
And in a blinding burst of light, he was gone.   
  
Mariana still laid in bed, the doll in her arms, but a feather in her hand.   
  
Nancy took a step forward even as her knees threatened to buckle, then another. She sat in the place where Ramiro had been moments before. Mariana’s breathing changed, and her eyes opened. “Nancy?”   
  
She forced a smile. “Hey.”   
  
“Is it time for school?”   
  
“No, not yet. Go back to sleep.”  
  
“Did you have a bad dream?” Mariana asked. “You can stay with me, if you’d like.”   
  
It was an offer that Nancy had given Mariana when she’d been scared of the nightmares she’d had. An offer that Mariana had occasionally taken her up on. Nancy nodded and got under the blankets on the other side of the bed. She didn’t want to leave Mariana alone after what she had just seen, even if she was certain that Ramiro would cause Mariana no harm. Besides, her legs were shaking so bad that she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get back to her room without falling down.   
  
“Go back to sleep,” Nancy whispered.   
  
“Sweet dreams, Nancy.”   
  
And Nancy stared at the feather as she wished the girl the same. 


End file.
